Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten is looking to take on Netflix (NFLX +4.1%) and Amazon's (AMZN...

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten is looking to take on Netflix (NFLX+4.1%) and Amazon's (AMZN+1.2%) Lovefilm unit in Europe: the company is launching a beta of its Wuaki TV/movie streaming service, already offered in Spain, in the U.K., and plans to offer it across top European markets within the next 18-24 months. Wuaki is initially charging U.K. subs just £2.99/month ($4.50/month); Netflix and Lovefilm respectively charge £5.99/month and £4.99/month. Wuaki needs to play catch-up when it comes to TV/mobile device support; for now, the service only works on PCs. There are still several large European markets uncovered by Netflix, Lovefilm, or both, but the companies are gradually changing that.